Friday, February 12, 2016

West Indies Under-19s World
Cup ended up stunning over 10,000 fans at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium by chasing
target 227, with three wickets in hand, in an anxious fashion against
Bangladesh Under-19s in the semi-final. West Indies were cruising at 147 for 3
and seemed to be buckle under pressure after captainShimron Hetmyerfell for 60. They lost two more
wickets for 34 runs, but were saved byShamar Springer's unbeaten 62 after his incisive spell of
10-0-36-2. West Indies will make their second appearance in an Under-19 World
Cup final when they take on India Under-19s in Mirpur on Sunday.

The West Indies chase started
in the usual aggressive mode when Gidron Pope hit 14 runs in the first over. He
continued to attack and was dropped on 23 in the fourth over before he took his
team to an intimidating 56 for 2 in seven overs. After Pope fell for 38,
Hetmyer led the charge just like his counterpartMehedi Hasan Mirazhad done earlier in the day, with a
measured knock in the company of Keacy Carty. The required run rate was just
under four when they got together and they carried out their partnership of 62
in composed fashion.

They
had no difficulty playing the spinners and Hetmyer brought up his second
straight fifty; but his dismissal in the 28th over threatened to tilt the game
the other way. Springer was joined by Jyd Goolie and with no scoreboard
pressure to face, they took the score past 175 until left-arm spinner Saleh
Ahmed Shawon struck twice in four balls and West Indies were still 46 adrift
with four wickets in hand.

IMAGE: Shamar Springer of
the West Indies celebrates after hitting the winning runs.

springer
was still there, and he and Michael Frew ran well to steal ones and twos in a
patient stand of 36 in 8.2 overs. Bangladesh struck again when Mohammad
Saifuddin removed Frew for 12 but Springer's presence saw them through as he
hit the winning runs with eight balls to spare.

Bangladesh
showed signs of nervousness too. They dropped Springer when he was on 15,
fumbled when they shouldn't have and conceded overthrows when the match was in
the balance, possibly feeling the pressure of playing in front of a massive
crowd that had gathered in Mirpur.

Earlier,
Mehedi had to rescue his team again from a precarious position, just like he
had done in the quarter-final against Nepal Under-19s. He forged an 85-run
partnership for the sixth wicket with Mohammed Saifuddin, lifting the side from
113 for 5 to close to 200.

West
Indies' opening bowlers, Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder, started poorly after
the hosts opted to bat. They conceded nine extras out of the total of 10 in the
first two overs but later succeeded in removing the openers by the seventh
over. They continued their barrage of short deliveries with varying lines,
while Bangladesh found the odd boundary.

Just
when Bangladesh were looking to lift the run rate after the first Powerplay,
they lost Nazmul Hossain Shanto, their best batsman in the tournament so far,
for 11 and medium-pacers Ryan John and Springer then choked the flow of runs.
Joyraz Sheik, who was dropped off a tough chance on 6, led them on even as
Zakir Hasan struggled to rotate the strike. Sheik, however, dragged one onto
his off stump and Zakir was bowled once Holder was brought back for his second
spell.

Mehedi
eased the flow of runs and pulled his team out of trouble once the spinners Jyd
Goolie, Pope and Frew came on, relying on plenty of back-foot strokes. Once the
hosts looked comfortable, the spinners sent down more loose deliveries and the
fielders started to misfield, too.

Saifuddin
played a more patient role in the partnership with Mehedi and was content
giving strike to the captain, who brought up his fifty off 63 balls. Their
comfort ended in the 45th over. Pacer Keemo Paul, who had injured himself while
fielding earlier, came on in the 46th over and struck off consecutive
deliveries to remove both set batsmen and hurt Bangladesh's chances of a total
close to 240. Springer was economical in the slog overs, too, and a couple of
fours and a six from the tail pushed Bangladesh past 220. They were dismissed
for 226 off the last ball of the innings.